Regional Appolntees

Web Animator:
Mike DePue, OFS
JPIC Coordinators:
Mike DePue, OFS
Dan Halley, OFS

Links Section

	GETTING STARTED
	AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
	TAKE ACTION
	CHARITY VS. JUSTICE
	SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION
	JPIC WEBINARS
	FRANCISCAN NONVIOLENCE
	PAPAL PEACE MESSAGES
	CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
	FRANCISCAN ACTION NETWORK

Catholic social teaching, sometimes referred to as the social doctrine of the Church, is a body of official Church teachings on the social order, composed of papal statements and conciliar or synodal documents. These social teachings originated with Pope Leo XIII and continue to the present.

The Catholic social tradition, however, is much older than this body of teachings, and is rooted in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures as well as in the patristic writings, which go back as far as the fifth century. This tradition provides a framework and an intellectual legacy from which the more recent (dating from the nineteenth century) social teachings draw. This tradition is a point of reference against which the social teachings are tested, even as the latter develop beyond the tradition by applying it to new issues and questions.

Catholic social teaching is rooted in the dignity of the human person as created in the image of God, and the human rights and duties that protect and enhance this dignity. Catholic social teaching is also concerned with the social nature of the human person, the concept of the common good, the relationship between society and the state, the theory of justice, an "option for the poor," and the concepts of subsidiarity and solidarity.

--Marywood University

The following messages call for committment and concern. Could you, your fraternity, and your parish prayerfully consider acting on them?

From Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia:
"Sign an online petition letter asking various government leaders, U.N. officials, and the Holy Father to intervene to stop the killings of human rights defenders and labor and peasant leaders in the Philippines by the Armed Forces and National Police. The Holy Father is included because he recently met with the President of the Philippines when the country ended their use of the death penalty."

From the Sisters of St. Francis (Clinton):
"In the past decade, Congress has spent $117 billion of taxpayer dollars on immigration enforcement initiatives, yet the number of unauthorized immigrants in the country has grown to 11.2 million. Now some in Congress are calling for the mandatory expansion of E-Verify (the largely voluntary program which allows employers to electronically verify workers' employment eligibility with Government databases). The problem is that unless E-Verify's expansion is undertaken in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, it will hurt U.S. workers and our already weakened economy. Justice for Immigrants / US Conference of Catholic Bishops urges us to let our members of Congress know that unless and until the E-Verify program is improved and undertaken in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, it will hurt U.S. workers and our already weakened economy. Justice for Immigrants urges us to let our members of Congress know that unless and until the E-Verify program is improved and undertaken in the context of comprehensive immigration reform, we oppose its expansion and mandatory implementation."

From Justice for Life / Sisters of Divine Providence:
"Human trafficking is not just a problem in other countries. Trafficking for sex or labor exploitations is increasing in the United States at an alarming rate. There are approximately 100,000 to 300,000 human trafficking victims in the United States. Michelle Korth, founder and executive director of the Colorado Springs aftercare facility Cinderella House, said 90 percent of all human trafficking victims in the country are American children with the average age being 13. About 70 percent are deemed throw-a-way kids — those who have run away, are in foster care or are neglected by their parents. Some kids are even sold by their parents for drugs. Only one percent of child trafficking victims are kidnapped." Do we care enough to get involved?

From the School Sisters of Notre Dame:
"A Congressional bill has been introduced that would repeal $113 billion of tax breaks, handouts, and subsidies for coal, gas, and oil companies over the next 10 years. That's enough money to weatherize more than half the single family and mobile homes in America. Please add your name to the list of Americans supporting the End Polluter Welfare Act by clicking here to find out what you can do.

The House Committee on Agriculture is now at work on its version of the 2012 Food & Farm Bill, following the one passed by the Senate Ag Committee, so now is a crucial time for Congress to hear from us what needs to be in the bill. The Committee has set up a comment box for constituents' feedback, and it's open to everyone. National Catholic Rural Life Conference endorses these positions of the Center for Rural Affairs: limit payments to the largest farms, protect conservation programs, invest in rural America, and support beginning farmers and ranchers. Click here to add your name: Rural Red Alert."

(Secular Franciscan fraternities could find these useful for ongoing formation.)

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. You are not obligated to complete the work. Neither are you free to abandon it.” ~The Talmud

“When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.” ~Mother Teresa

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” ~Archbishop Desmond Tutu

~More Discussion Starters can be found here.~

What could I be doing to help my parish (fraternity, place of work, club, etc.) use less and recycle more?

Sr. Helen Prejean calls capital punishment "America’s desire for legalized vengeance.” Why does she think Americans want such vengeance? Is such vengeance, in itself, morally acceptable?

Do you think the death penalty provides closure for the victim’s family? Why or why not?

“Mercy preserves our own lives and keeps [them] from deteriorating and moving into hatred and bitterness." (Sr. Helen Prejean) Do you think mercy has this power?

Are there things people can do to bring themselves to be forgiving?

~More Reflection Questions can be found here.~